Method of analyzing, transmitting, and reconstructing pictures or the like



T. M. DOWN.

METHOD OF ANALYZING, TRANSMITTING, AN

D RECONSTRUCTING PICTURES OR THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.24, 1920.

ATTV.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS IACBEADY DOWN, OF KEW GARDENS, ENGLAND.

nn'rnon or ANALYZING, rms m'r'rme, AND nncons'rncc'rmo PICTURES on THE LIKE.

1 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known, that 'I, THOMAS MACREADY DOWN, subject of the King of Great Britain, residin at No. 65 Gloucester road, Kew Gardens, burrey, England, have invented a new and useful Improved Method of Anal zing, Transmiting, and Reconstructing ictures or the like, of which the following is a specification.

his invention relates to an improvement in or modification of the method of enabling the details of pictures, designs and the like to be transmitted, which consists in analyzing the picture-or the like by dividing the original picture or the like or a photographic enlargement thereof into sections, estimating the characteristic or features of each section transmitting a statement of such estimation'by a pre-arranged code and reconstructing the picture or the like by reproducing the stated characteristic or feature in corresponding sections.

For the purpose of carrying out the above described method the original picture or design or photographic enlargement thereof is divided into small sections by intersecting lines, each square being conveniently denoted by a character or number appended to the respective column and row in which it is located. j Now to obtain an accurate reproduction of the analyzed picture it is necessary that the analysis itself shall be correct, alsoto obtain any appreciable amount of detail and to avoid a too obstrusive mosaic or patchwork appearance in the reproduction, the

sections into which the original picture is divided and of which the reproduction is constituted must be small relatively to -the total area of'thepicture. This involves the estimation of comparatively small sections .of the picture in juxta-position to other small sections, which embodies a very diflicult, if not impossible, task to obtain accurate results.

In the present invention all permanent enlargements by photography or otherwise at the transmitting end are dispensed with.

According to the invention, the picture or the like is optically projected on to a screen with a magnification of many times greater area than that of the original picture.

Such screenhas its surfacemarked off by intersecting lines inclosing spaces. The in- Specification of Letters Patent. Patent d M 31 1921 Application filed November 2 4, 1920. Serial No. 426,237.

- ing station.

On recipt of the particulars of the characteristlcs or features of the various sections of the plcture these characteristics or features are inserted by hand in the respective spaces of the receiving screen, and eventually the completed reproduced exaggerated plcture is reduced optically, photographically or otherwise.

The intersecting lines on the receiving screen may be non-permanent or photographically non-actinic in order that they shall not appear upon a photographically reiciluced copy of the reproduction of the pic- It will thus be seen that the picture to .be transmitted and reproduced is considerably enlarged relatively to the original whereby the characteristics or values of the individual sections are rendered crude and easily estimated and at the place of recepof exaggerated size should be distinguished from the ordinary small reductions of areproduction of normal size for the urpose of making a printing block or the li e.

Each horizontal row and each vertical 5 column of spaces on these screens is correspondingly marked or numbered so that each such space may be readily indentified at the receiving station, from the transmitted telegram or telephonic or other message.

The horizontal rows of spaces may be numbered from the top downward, and the columns may be marked alphabetically from the left with one or more letters,

Thus if the telegram or message reads 3 D the operator knows there is something at the intersection. of the 3rd row and the 4th column. s V

' In order more precisely to determine the position of a feature within a space, each single space may be considered-as subdivided into a plurality of sub-spaces, by sub-dividing each by means of maginary lines, for instance two pairs of imaginary intersecting lines providing nine sub-spaces, each identified by a pie-arranged code. For

example, the sub-spaces may be numbered 1 to 9. Hence a number following a code letter would indicate a sub-space of the space indicated by the preceding code number and letter. I The character of the features, the locallties of which may be indicated as above described, may be conveyed, for example, by

a number code. Such'number in the absence of a sub-space number would indicate the.

Associated character of the entire space. with asub-space number, either precedlng or following, the characteristic number, this.

latter would indicate the character of a sub-space only.

The characteristic or feature code may be, for example 1 black, 2 half tone (gray), 3 light tone, 4 violet, 5 blue, 6 green, 7 yellow, 8 red, 9 neutral, 0 white.

A symbol to indicate white is necessary only for a sub-space, for instance, a white dot on a black ground, because when the entire space is white it can be ignored, no location or characteristic being transmitted. I Examples of the employment of the code *are as follows y 6 'E 2=Intersection space of 6 horizontal row and 5th vertical column is half tone.

6 E 51=Central sub-space of intersection of 6 horizontal row and 5th vertical column is black. 4

When the picture or design is projected upon the screen the operator is able to determine whether the projected picture is of the most suitable dimensions for analysis Should the picture or design be very simple or well defined the enlargement and the number of spaces occupied upon the screen required for complete analysis, may be less than for a more complex picture. The degree of enlargement is determined by focusmg or advancing or withdrawing the projector toand from the screen. By suitably restricting the enlargement the length of the telegram can be confined to the absolute.

minimum for obtaining correct reproduction.

The operator at the receiving station,

upon receipt of the telegram or other message, interprets and plots out the details of I the picture or design by inserting the transmitted features in the respective spaces of the screenat the receiving station. When thls operat on has been completed a greatly enlarged representation of the original picture or design is presented which, subject to errors, should be a true and faithful enlarged copy of the original. If in the operators op1n1on it is an intelligible picture or design, a copy thereof is made on the desired reduced scale by the aid of the photography or otherwise. However, if it is found that the picture plotted upon the screen is deficient in any respect after having an examination of an opticalv reduction thereof the omissions and modification are filled in and the defects remedied according to the judgment of the operator (1n the manner of ascenic artist) and. then the reduction is proceeded with as above indicated.

The intersecting lines on the screen may .be produced by optical projection from a crude reproduction may be produced by va-.

rious coloring matters singly or superposed, using pads orstamps to plot 1n the spaces,

such that when photographed they give the desired shade or tone values in monochrome. A series of the same picture taken with difi'ei ent color values may be transmitted and reproduced to enable the picture to be printed by the three or multi-color printing process.

For economy in transmission the code employed may provide for the characteristic of a plurality of sections havingall the same feature being transmitted by one code expression or code group.

For rapid fill'ng in or shading of the screen at the receiving end,- suitably shaped pads or stamps charged with suitable pigments or scen1c artists wash colors ma be employed, these pads" being of the size and .shape of the spaces or sub-spaces respec The invention is illustrated diagrammatically on the accompanying drawing, in which J Figure 1 is a side elevation of the optical projector, the respective screen being in section. 1

Fig. 2 is a front elevationof the analysing screen. 1

Fig. 3 is aside elevation of the camera, the respective screen being iIf section.

Fig.4 is a front elevation of the recon structing screen.

Fig. 5 is a view corresponding to Fig; 3

but also showing a projector for the optical projection of the line 011 the reconstructing screen. a

wherein the intersecting pairs 0 Figs. 6 and 7 are enlarged views of portions of the screens showing the method of subdividing each space.

At the transmittlng station a: is the lantern for optically projecting the picture on to the analyzing screen 6, assumed to be a wall surface.

At the receiving station c is the camera for photographically reducing the picture reconstructed on the screen 11.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5, in addition to the camera 0, a lantern e is emloyed to project optically the intersecting ines on the reconstructing screen (1.

The method of subdividing each space in-- closed by the intersecting lines of the screens 6 and d, is illustrated by Figs. 6 and 7,

dotted lines indicate the lines imagined to subdivide each space into nine sub-spaces numbered 1 to 9.

I claim:

1. A method of analyzing, transmitting and reconstructing pictures, desi ns and the like, consisting in optically pro ectlng s'ald picture on an exaggerated scale on to a surface subdivided into spaces by intersectmg lines, estimating the characteristics of the portions of said picture contained in each said space, transmitting code descriptions of said charicteristics associated with code definitions of said spaces, inserting said transmitted characteristics in corresponding spaces of a large surface correspondingly subdivided by intersecting lines and reducing the picture reproduced on said second surface.

2. A method of analyzing, transmitting and reconstructing pictures, designs and the like, consisting in optically projecting said picture on an exaggerated scale on to a surface subdivided into spaces by intersecting lines, estimating the characteristics of the portions of said picture contained in each said space, transmitting code descriptions of said characteristics associated with code definitions of said spaces, inserting said transmitted characteristics in corresponding spaces of a large surface correspondingly subdivided by intersecting lines and photographically reducing the picture reproduced on said second surface.

3. A method of analyzing, transmitting and reconstructing pictures, designs and the like, consisting in optically projecting said picture on an exaggerated scale on to a surface subdivided into spaces by intersecting lines, estimating the characteristics of the portions of said picture contained 1n each said space, transmitting code descriptions of said characteristics associated with code definitions of said spaces, inserting said transmitted characteristics in corresponding spaces of a large surface correspondingly subdivided y i t rs c g nes and p t graphicall reducing without said intersect,- ing lines t e picture reproduced on said second surface.

4. A method of analyzing, transmitting and reconstructing pictures, designs and the like, consisting in optically projecting said picture on an exaggerated scale on to a surface subdivided into spaces by intersecting lines, estimating the characteristics of the portions of said picture contained in each said space, transmitting code descriptions of said characteristics associated with code definitions of said spaces, inserting said transmitted characteristics in correspondmg spacespf a large surface correspondingly subdivided by non-actinic intersecting lines and photographically reducing portions of said picture contained in each said space, transmitting code descriptions of said characteristics associated with code definitions of said spaces, inserting said transmitted characteristics in correspond ing spaces of a large surface correspondingly subdivided by optically projected intersecting lines'and, after cessation of said projection of said lines, photographically reducing the picture reproduced on said second surface.

6. A method of analyzing, transmitting and reconstructing pictures, designs and the like, consisting in optically projecting said picture on an exaggerated scale on to a surface subdivided into spaces by intersecting lines, estimating the characteristics of the portions of said icture contained, in each said spaceftransmitting code descriptions of said characteristics associated with code definitions of said spaces, inserting by tonalvalent colors said transmitted characteris tics in corresponding spaces of a large correspondingly subdivided surface and photographically reducing in monochrome the picture reproduced on said second surface.

7. A method of analyzing, transmitting and reconstructing pictures, designs and the like, consisting in optically projecting said picture on an exaggerated scale on to a surface subdivided into' spaces by intersecting lines, estimating the characteristics of the portions of said picture contained in each said space, transmitting code descriptions of said characteristics associated with code definitions of said spaces, inserting by tonalvalent colors said transmitted characteristics in corresponding spaces of a large surface correspondingly subdivided by intersecting lines and photographically reducing in monochrome without said intersecting lines the picture reproduced on said second surface- 8. A method of analyzing, transmitting and reconstructing pictures, desi and the like, consisting in optically pro ect1ng said picture on an exaggerated scale on to a surface correspondingly subdivided by nonactinic intersecting lines and photographically reducing in monochrome the picture reproduced on said second surface.

9. A method of analyzing, transmitting cally projected intersecting lines and, a

and reconstructing pictures, designs and the 4 like, consisting in optically prqecting said picture on an exaggerated scale on to a surface subdivided into spaces by intersecting lines, estimating the characteristics of the portions of said picture contained in each said space, transmitting code descriptions of said characteristics associated with code definitions of said spaces, insertin by tonalvalent colors said transmitted c aracteristics in corresponding spaces of a large surface correspondingly subdivided by opticessation of said projection of said lines, photographically reducing in monochrome tf'he picture reproduced on said second surace.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

THOMAS MACREADY DOWN.

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